Social media didn’t react favorably to Paul Pierce’s bold proclamation that he is the best pure scorer in NBA history. He wasn’t even safe from his NBA colleagues. One former NBA All-Star pushed back and refused to accept Pierce’s statements as truth.
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Last week, Pierce weighed in on Kevin Durant’s status as one of the best scorers in NBA history. During his spiel, without hesitation, he inserted himself into the discussion.
“I’m probably the best pure scorer ever in the history of the NBA,” Pierce said on FS1’s Speak. “I was pretty equipped when I think about it. I need to be in this conversation.”
Pierce didn’t just leave it there, though. He proceeded to go down the list of the greatest scorers in NBA history and explain how he was even greater.
“I’m a better three-point shooter than Jordan. One thing I got better than KD, I was a better post-up player,” Pierce declared.
Aside from the initial shock factor, Pierce’s reasoning isn’t as crazy as it seems. When it comes to three-point shooting, he really was better than Michael Jordan. The numbers speak for themselves: Pierce connected on 2,143 three-pointers, while Jordan made only 581.
The problem with that logic is that it doesn’t account for the differences in other areas of scoring. As a result, Jeff Teague and his cohosts on The Club 520 Podcast couldn’t take Pierce’s comments seriously.
Teague respects Paul Pierce as one of the best small forwards the game has ever seen but adamantly refutes Pierce’s opinion. In regard to Pierce being the best pure, “He get high now,” Teague said. “Give me [Carmelo Anthony] over Paul Pierce.”
DJ Wells was laughing throughout the conversation, but he couldn’t help but respect Pierce’s confidence. “The fact that he’s a champion and he be killing, people got to respect some of the stuff he says even though he be wilding,” Wells proclaimed.
Teague wasn’t alone in his assessment. The entire crew sided with the New York Knicks legend, naming Anthony a purer scorer than Pierce. That doesn’t mean they view Pierce as sub-par; he just doesn’t line up with some of the more notable figures in the sport, and that’s okay.
